A Matching Set
by ForeverDaydream
Summary: In which the Charmings decide that it would be easier, neater, and generally more aesthetically appealing if both their sons' destinies were in the same tale. And so Dexter becomes Raven's Good King.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Arranged Marriage

Queen Charming pursed her lips in distaste. She was sitting in her private parlor with her husband and three children: Daring, who was almost a year old, and the newborn twins Darling and Dexter.

Her husband looked up and noticed her frown. "What's the matter, Dearest?"

"It's cousin Generous," she said, setting down a letter. "She just had another baby. That makes six. One more and she has the whole set for _The Six Swans._ "

"Say, aren't Beautiful and Benevolent's children all in the same fairy-tale too?" King Charming asked.

"Yes, and Lovely wants to have all twelve dancing princesses," Queen Charming replied. "The Dancers might declare war on them for that; it's their story. I suppose Lovely is hoping they do, actually-you know Likeable wanted to marry Septima." She sighed. "Sets are so fashionable lately. I feel like at Charming Reunions everyone will laugh at us."

"No one would laugh at us," her husband said. "We're the _D_ Charmings, the fourth-most important."

"But our children aren't in a set!" Queen Charming cried shrilly. "The twins don't even _have_ destinies yet, and Daring's is clearly unstable!" (Daring was unofficially betrothed to Apple White,the next Snow White.) "The Evil Queen's daughter is _younger_ than Apple! Younger! How can she be Apple's stepmother if she's younger than her?!"

"Well, you know that she's stepmother in name only," her husband pointed out. "The Good King hasn't been Snow White's real father in centuries."

"But every Evil Queen as long as we can remember has been old enough to remember her mother's death!" the queen said. "That's how their resentment of the Whites is born!"

The king thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, my dear, I think I have the answer to all your problems. Clearly this generation of the Snow White story needs guidance to proceed properly. Daring has to have his happy ending; Dexter needs a fate; you need your matching set; and the Queen girl needs supervision. The Good King's fate is still open, isn't it?"

And so it was that the Charmings came to betroth their second son to the fledgling Raven Queen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Nursery Rhyme School

In his earliest memories, Dexter was rather resentful of his destiny.

People treated him differently than Daring or Darling. He wasn't as daring or darling as they were (was he even dexterous?), so he wouldn't be a favored child, but on top of that the Good King had a reputation as a dope. How did he _not_ notice his wife was evil? How could he not be stupid if he was so easily manipulated? Never mind that the Good King had been aware of this for generations, but permitted it to preserve the story. People thought he must be a lovesick fool and the Evil Queen's tool. (That was, actually, a quote from a song that Dexter's siblings would sing when annoyed with him.)

Besides being treated like an idiot when he was actually the smartest of the Charmings, the royals were also wary of trusting him. They thought that his primary allegiance was to the Queens (which was more or less true) and that everything they confided in him would be reported back to them (which was not). The current Evil Queen's attempt to take over _other_ stories only made this worse, and Dexter was a bit of a pariah: good for congenial smalltalk but not much else.

Because of all this, Dexter went in to nursery rhyme school very prepared to hate Raven Queen. It's not like he wanted to try to redeem himself by being mean to her, he was just angry because he saw her as the root of his problems.

However, almost as soon as he stepped inside, he was bowled over by a raven-haired girl. She embraced him tightly, saying exuberantly, "My daddy says you're going to be my friend!" Her lavender eyes were bright. "I've never had a friend before!" She then went on to do her best to make him happy: she played any game he suggested, even the ones she didn't like (she much preferred musical chairs to build-your-own monster truck sets), she gave him all her sweets during lunch, and whenever she looked at him she was _beaming_ , and looking at him with big hopeful eyes like he was her hero.

He'd never felt like a hero before.

It was hard to dislike somebody who tried so hard to be nice to you, and as they say, misery loves company. It felt better to be two pariahs together than one alone.

Needless to say, they were fast friends.


End file.
